In the case of vehicle door systems of this type, a customary vehicle pillar which divides the vehicle door opening into two smaller vehicle door openings and against which the vehicle doors strike or on which the vehicle doors are mounted is not provided between the vehicle doors. The absent vehicle pillar is, for example, a central pillar or a “B pillar” in the case of a lateral door opening of a customary vehicle body.
A vehicle door system of the prior art is described, for example, in EP 0 540 053 B1 and JP 2004 90670 A, where the stiffening elements of the impact protection each interengage when the vehicle doors are closed. However, this per se obstructs the closing and opening of the vehicle doors or makes it more difficult for them to do so.
Likewise, for the closing of a vehicle door, JP 2004-148877 A also discloses interengaging stiffening elements on the vehicle doors and the vehicle body.
US 20050023862A1 proposes, as impact protection, a body structure which is complicated, since it is configured specifically, in order to absorb and deflect lateral impact forces around the passenger compartment.
The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a vehicle door system of the type mentioned at the beginning with effective impact protection which does not obstruct opening and closing of the vehicle doors or make it more difficult to do so.